"Wrestling him in the room gets me better, especially because he has weight on me," Schlett said of Hunko. "And on top of that, he’s a very good wrestler. He’s really funky on the mat, but we make each other better."

Asked what’s so "funky" about Hunko’s technique, Schlett replied, "Just his style of wrestling, his moves and his ability to score when he’s scrambling."

And Hunko noted that "funky" is the word that all of his teammates and coaches use to describe him.

"I have a tendency to use my flexibility in my matches," said Hunko. "I’ll be in an arm bar and on a normal wrestler, the move will work, or they will hurt their shoulder. I’m double jointed, so I can just let it happen, and the ref will call potentially dangerous, or I’ll wind up in a scramble, which is probably my best asset as a wrestler."

"When I’m on bottom, it’s very hard to turn because of my flexible arms," Hunko noted. "A lot of kids will get caught because of bad hips. I’ve been wrestling since third grade, and my mat sense has grown over the years where I don’t even need to worry where my hips are."

Hunko enjoys working with Schlett in the wrestling room.

"I have some weight on him, but we graduated a lot of upper weight kids," Hunko said. "A lot of the guys are new, so he helps me a lot in the room."

Hunko took fourth at the county tournament. He lost in the semifinals to three-time county champ and 2012 state champion Johnny Sebastian of Bergen Catholic, arguably one of the top kids in the state.

Hunko didn’t place in the previous year’s tournament.

"It definitely feels good," he said about improving upon his standing. "Last year [2011] at the tournament, I definitely did not wrestle my best. I was conditioned enough last year and was really disappointed."

And like Schlett, Hunko has performed well in January, going 7-1, with a lone loss to Hawthorne senior Evan Ramos, who is one of the top wrestlers in North Jersey.

"I want to finish the season with 30 wins and a trip to Atlantic City," said Hunko, who has never qualified for the state tournament. He was a 5th/6th at the Region 2 tournament last year.

Schlett wants to capture another district title after winning his first last year as a junior, and "ultimately reach Atlantic City."